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Saturday, April 9, 2011

Sha-bam!: Epic Wrestling Grapples and Throws [Part Deux]

Welcome back to part two of the series on wrestling moves that will kick your butt. Today we will be taking a novel look at wrestling finishers. The finisher, as its name suggests, is a match ending move. Every wrestler has one or more powerful signature moves that they can perform on their opponent--once they are softened up enough--to floor them and pin them. Each finisher is as unique as the character who performs it. In the WWE circle, The Undertaker has his Tombstone Piledriver, Triple H has his Pedigree, and CM Punk has his Go to Sleep. In this post, we will take a quick look at two of my personal favorite finishers: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's Stone Cold Stunner and Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels' Sweet Chin Music.

The Stone Cold Stunner

"Austin 3:16 says, 'I just whooped your ass'!" He sure did. A swift front kick to the stomach, a twist headlock and a drop are the components that make up a Stunner. To add insult to injury, queue Austin "flipping the bird" at his grounded opponent. But this finisher is far more than the sum of its parts as it is not a technically difficult move to pull-off. Rather in each and every Stone Cold Stunner you can feel Austin's power, charisma, and anger the essence of this anti-hero's personality. As soon as you see him going for the kick, you know that the match is almost over. You better not blink or you may miss this signature ending as it is one of the more quick finishers in the WWE. But once the two entwined wrestlers drop, you know Austin is the only one getting back up. For laughs, check out Austin Stone Cold Stunning the entire McMahon family.

Sweet Chin Music

Though its name may be misleading, Sweet Chin Music sums up the most beautiful part of HBK's finisher, the sound of a foot impacting the lower jaw of a professional wrestler. The characteristic smack makes the hit appear incredibly painful. What impresses me the most about Michaels' finisher is how quick and accurate it is, it is hard to believe that the wrestler on the receiving isn't seriously injured. Not very much selling is necessary to make the hit believable.

2 comments:

While I'm often not convinced of the technical fight skills even many of the top professional wrestlers have, I am continually impressed by the speed and accurate of shaun michael's kick. It's funny how guys like Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold were able to be "world champions" so many times over despite not having very many fighting moves. This begs the question: should professional wrestling school focus on developing fighting ability (possibly) at the expense of showmanship?

Seeing both of these signature moves really makes you realize the risks these guys take stepping into the ring. If they make one mistake (perhaps Shaun Micheals kicking too far) the other wrestlers' livelihood is at stake. I was always impressed with their precision landing moves but when you dedicate your life to their maneuvers you better be able to land them 10 out of 10 tries. Still very impressive shots.